


you drew stars around my scars

by Lilsciencequeen



Series: folklore [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Healing, Injury Recovery, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Remus Lupin & Nymphadora Tonks Live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25596757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilsciencequeen/pseuds/Lilsciencequeen
Summary: It was late when he came home, and when he entered the bedroom, quiet as he could, he found her asleep on the bed, curled up on top of the duvet. An open book lay next to her, abandoned. It seemed that she had tried to wait up for him, but hadn’t been able to, falling asleep instead.A smile crossed his face as he took in the scene, at how peaceful everything was: his wife asleep in the bed with a soft smile on her face and their son asleep in his cot, one fist clenched onto his blanket. This here - everything about it - it was something that he never thought he could have. But now he had it. Now it was his, and he wasn’t going to let anything take it away from him.// Or what greets Remus when he returns home from London.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Series: folklore [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064426
Comments: 10
Kudos: 60





	you drew stars around my scars

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Tonks/Lupin fic having been an avid shipper since they first got together. I really hope that I did them justice and I want to say thank you for checking this fic out.
> 
> Title from cardigan by Taylor Swift.

It was late when he came home, and when he entered the bedroom, quiet as he could, he found her asleep on the bed, curled up on top of the duvet. An open book lay next to her, abandoned. It seemed that she had tried to wait up for him, but hadn’t been able to, falling asleep instead.

A smile crossed his face as he took in the scene, at how peaceful everything was: his wife asleep in the bed with a soft smile on her face and their son asleep in his cot, one fist clenched onto his blanket. This here - everything about it - it was something that he never thought he could have. But now he had it. Now it was his, and he wasn’t going to let anything take it away from him.

After taking a few moments to take in this moment, to appreciate everything that he had, he slid off his jacket and untied his tie, hanging them up on the back of the door before climbing onto the bed next to her, careful not to wake her. The mattress dipped under his weight as he curled up on the bed next to her, leaving her book on the bedside table so that it was no longer in the way.

She shuffled in her sleep, mumbling something that he couldn’t make out and he couldn’t help but brush a loose strand of hair away from her face. She seemed so peaceful, so at ease as she slept that he wanted to capture this moment forever. Wanted to preserve it so he could even return to it in his darkest moments. A light in the darkness.

It had been over 7 months now since the Battle of Hogwarts, and Christmas was drawing closer and closer every day. And with each passing day, they were continuing to heal. Continuing to work through what had happened to them - not just in recent months but in recent years. It had taken so much time, and it was still taking time but they were coming to terms with their traumas, about what they had been through. 

They were recovering. They were healing. 

Putting the past behind them and focusing on their future.

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice that she had woken up until she spoke, voice heavy with sleep. “How was London?”

“Hi, it was fine. I'll explain everything tomorrow morning,” he whispered, keeping his voice low so as not to wake up Teddy. He had just started to sleep through the night fully, and both of them were scared of waking him up, lest he not get back to sleep easily. “I missed you. Was everything okay when I was away?”

She nodded. “He was wonderful. We made some cookies earlier. Should still be some in the kitchen if you wanted some.”

“And Teddy?”

“He missed you. He’ll be glad to have his daddy back tomorrow.” Her smile grew deeper and she reached across the gap between them, cupping his cheek, her thumb caressing him gently. “We both really missed you.” Even though he had been gone for two days, she had missed him. A lot. Two days felt like such a long time, but he was back. He was safe, and at that moment there, that was all that mattered to her. 

Her husband had been down in London, helping Kingsley to reestablish the Ministry, helping to sign off on new laws, to change the way things were run. It was hard work, but someone had to do it. And she knew that in the long run, it would be better. That the world would be a better place for so many people, especially those like her husband. She rarely went down, it was hard on Teddy, so he often went alone, and though she knew that work that he was doing was important, she still missed him with every fibre of her being. 

“I don’t have to go back until after the New Year,” he told her. “And we could both go down this time. Spend some time away.”

“You think so?” 

He nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “We haven’t had a chance to getaway. Not properly. And we could take Teddy to see the ducks. I'm sure he'd love that." A sigh. We haven’t had a chance to just…”

“I know,” she told him, caressing his cheek, her fingers lingering for a second longer on his scars. “And we will. Just the three of us.” 

For a while, the two of them remained silent, simply enjoying being in the presence of one another once more. Though it had been a few days, it felt like a lifetime. Her hair was a soft pink tonight, more subdued than her favourite colour of bubblegum, grown down into a bob, though still barely grazing her shoulders. Since the war, since the violence, she always seemed more at peace. More at ease but the scars still lingered in her mind. In his mind. And they were worse than the ones on the flesh. The one that marred her inner arm.

_Blood Traitor._

It has been carved into her arm - a cruel reminder of what her aunt had thought of her. And no matter how many draughts and potions they used, no matter what balms and healing charms were used, it was still there, a constant angry reminder - red and vicious.

His gaze dropped to it. He often never stared at it. He often didn't pay attention to it - not out of cruelness but out of kindness. She hated it. It was a reminder of Bellatrix. The woman who had tried to kill her - and had so nearly succeeded that last time. It was a reminder of what so many thought of her - she the woman whose mother had not only betrayed the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black - but she was the woman who had started a family with a werewolf. In their eyes, she was nothing better than someone who was Muggle Born. 

To them, she had betrayed them.

Betrayed the Wizarding World.

So he didn't focus on it. But to him, it didn't make her any less of who she was. It didn't make her ugly like she thought that it did. It showed a sign of strength. That to her, love had no bounds and that family wasn't always forged in blood. It came from those who you loved for who they were. 

It had taken him a long time to accept that fact. To accept that he was worthy of it. And yes, there were still some days when he struggled. Some days when he thought he didn't deserve all of this. But those days were fewer in number, and the moments when he felt like that were fleeting. Watching Dora with Teddy, the two of them laughing together, it was healing in a way he didn't know was possible. And Teddy - his son - if someone had told him even a handful of years ago that he would be a father, that he would have a son - he would have laughed at them. Would have told them that it never would have been possible. but here he was, lying only metres away. And he was perfect - a pure bundle of joy who lit up every room.

And he was perfect, he really was. There were so many days spent with his son, with his wife that he adored. Many that he wanted to remember for as long as he lived. Reading stories to him, his eyes lighting up as his parents spoke to him. Walks in the evening, when the air was crisp and cold and Teddy was wrapped up in many many layers to keep warm. Early mornings, when Dora was still in bed, and he surprised her with breakfast in bed. So many memories, so many of them simple but he would never change them for the world. They were his world after all.

So, if the rest of the world thought her a blood traitor so be it - she was part of his family and they loved each other and that mattered so much more than anything else. 

Without really knowing why, his thumb rubbed gently at it, drawing an unseen shape around the scar.

"I love you," he whispered, meaning the words - there was never a moment when he didn't. She was his best friend - his soulmate. They were two halves of a whole that slotted together perfectly. 

"I love you too." Her attention followed his thumb and then… "a star."

"I wanted to create something beautiful. From the tragedy. From the pain.” When she seemed confused, the emotion flashing across her face for the briefest of moments, he elaborated. “You showed me how to be the best version of myself that I could be. That despite everything… that I deserve. That I could have love”

“Remus,” she murmured. “Nothing in this world could stop me from loving you, from wanting to be with you.”

“I know,” he reassured her. “And nothing will ever stop that. Nothing will ever change that.”

Tonks looked like she was going to say something but all of a sudden, a yawn escaped her. It was early in the morning. It was the very early hours of the morning to be more accurate, and she had been up since the early hours of the previous morning when Teddy had demanded his feed. And had stayed up, waiting to greet her husband.

“Sleep,” he told her, pressing another kiss into her forehead. “I’ll deal with breakfast tomorrow morning, get Teddy ready tomorrow morning.” But she had already fallen asleep at that point, her breathing gentle. He reached down his side of the bed, where his blanket had fallen (she must have been using it when he was away) and threw it over the both of them, sleep claiming him not long after. And they remained like that, the rest of the night, wrapped in the embrace of one another. 

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks again for checking this fic out, I really hope that you enjoyed x


End file.
